Thursday, April 8, 2010

Pattern: Practical Procrastination Pullover

Well, it took a while, but here it is: the pattern for the short sleeved pullover I designed last year and reknit this January, newly christened the Practical Procrastination Pullover. The alliteration is a little painful, I know, but I just couldn't resist. Besides, it's quite true actually. I designed and knit this in a fit of procrastination come exam period (I actually did the majority of the knitting while listening to endless recordings of Restitutions Law lectures).

But despite these mildly deplorable origins, it's actually a very practical thing to knit. It's good to throw on over a tank top for a little bit of extra warmth when it's not quite warm enough to go without - I've been wearing it quite a lot like this in the current autumn weather, throwing a scarf into the mix on colder mornings. Come winter, I imagine it'll be great for layering. And if one wants to extend the 'practical' theme to finding a use for some of those past impulsive yarn purchases, this pattern lends itself very well. It uses about 420 yards of DK weight yarn, so if you've got anything squirrelled away in an amount that isn't quite enough for a full size pullover, this hits the spot quite nicely. Or if you're feeling all frugal and virtuous, you can do what I did for the purple version - using only one 200g ball of yarn, it cost me a whole $11 to make!

I ummed and ahhed a little about how and when to post this one, if at all. Originally I'd toyed with the idea of braving some maths and then writing up instructions for other sizes, but then I realised that given how hectic my life is, it might take a while for me to get around to doing this. I'll update it when I do, but in the mean time, here's the original version - it probably wouldn't take too much work to up/downsize it. Raglans are pretty flexible that way, which is why we love them.

Also, a brief disclaimer: the following pattern has, as of right now, been test knit only by yours truly (though people are working on this!), and even though I am yet to find any, there may very well be mistakes lurking in the depths. If you find any, please do let me know!

Practical Procrastination Pullover:

This is a raglan style short sleeved pullover, constructed from the bottom hem upwards. Stitches are cast on for the body and worked in the round until being divided for the neckline opening, after which point it is worked back and forth flat. Sleeves are created by provisionally casting on stitches, which are later picked up and worked from the shoulder down once the body knitting has been completed.

Size: Fits a 36 inch bust with a small amount of ease.

Yarn: Variegated version used Sanguine Gryphon Free Range in 'Green Junglefowl' (2 skeins). I worked from both skeins at once, switching every two rows to avoid pooling, but you don't need to do that if you're not as neurotic as I am! Purple version used Bendigo Woollen Mills Rustic 8ply in 'Midnight Tweed' (1 ball). This is equivalent to approximately 420 yards of DK knit weight yarn.

Needles: 5.5mm circular needle for body, and 5.5mm double pointed needles as well if you're not keen on using the magic loop technique for the sleeves. Optional: 7mm needles for sleeves if working the flared sleeve variation seen in the variegated version.

Gauge: 15 sts / 24 rows = 4 inches on 5.5mm needles. Note: using this size needle with a dk yarn creates quite a light fabric, so upsize the yarn if you want something more substantial.

Abbreviations: K: knit
P: purl
PM: place stitch marker
SM: slip stitch marker
K2tog: Knit next two stitches together (1 stitch decreased - right slanting decrease)
SSK: Slip next two stitches, one at a time, then knit together through the front (1 stitch decreased - left slanting decrease)
RS: right side
WS: wrong side
M1: Increase one stitch

Body:Cast on 132 stitches. PM to mark beginning and join to begin working in the round.
In first round, PM after 66 stitches to mark halfway point of round (used for waist shaping).
Work next 6 rows in garter stitch in the round (i.e. alternating knit and purl rounds).
Change to stocking stitch (knit all rounds), and work 4 more rounds.

Work even until piece measures 8 inches from cast on edge, or length desired before neck opening (note that I am Tall and probably have a longer torso than most, so this length may vary on someone else!)

Neckline set-up:K 25, PM, P 8, PM, knit to end of round (these 8 purled stitches will form the garter stitch border for the neckline, so if you desire a wider/narrower border, alter your garter stitch count accordingly here. The important thing to remember is that these stitches are centred on the front half of the pullover).

Sleeves:Knit to 3 stitches before side marker. Slip next 6 stitches onto two separate pieces of waste yarn - 3 stitches per piece (removing first side marker), PM, provisionally cast on 42 stitches for the first sleeve, PM, work to 3 stitches before second side marker, slip next 6 stitches on waste yarn as previously described, PM, provisionally cast on 42 stitches for second sleeve, PM, work to end.

Note: neckline decreases cease from this point onwards.

Purl next round.

Raglan decreases:Row 1 (RS): Knit to first sleeve marker, SM, k2tog, work to 2 stitches before next marker, ssk, SM, k2tog, work to 2 stitches before next marker, ssk, SM, k2tog, work to 2 stitches before last sleeve marker, ssk, SM, work to end. (6 stitches decreased)
Row 2 (WS): Purl
Row 3: Work as for Row 1
Row 4: Purl
Row 5: Knit to 2 stitches before first sleeve marker, ssk, SM, k2tog, work to 2 stitches before next marker, ssk, SM, k2tog, work to 2 stitches before next marker, ssk, SM, k2tog, work to 2 stitches before last sleeve marker, ssk, SM, k2tog, work to end. (8 stitches decreased).
Row 6: Purl.

Repeat the last 6 rows 2 more times.

Work as for Row 5 on all RS rows, purling WS rows, for 18 rows more. Stop decreasing when 48 stitches remain (you should have 5 stitches remaining on each front - including garter border, 8 stitches on each sleeve, and 22 stitches on the back).
Work 4 rows garter stitch.
Bind of all stitches

(Optional: On the purple version, I decreased 1 stitch on each neckline edge in the last 2 rows before the bind-off, just to make the corners a little less pointy).

Sleeves:Starting middle of armpit, knit 3 held stitches onto needle (circular or dpn, depending on how you choose to work the sleeves). Pick up 1 stitch between these stitches and the sleeve stitches, then carefully undo the provisional cast on and knit these stitches. Pick up 1 stitch in gap between sleeve and held stitches. Knit remaining 3 held stitches.
Place marker to mark start, then work in the round for 3 rounds.

Work 4 rows garter stitch in the round (optional: if you want a slightly flared sleeve, switch to 7mm needles at this point).

Loosely bind off all stitches.

Weave in ends, block, and you're done!

If anything in this doesn't make sense, or you have questions, drop me an email!

Just finished knitting this last night and I love it! Your pattern was easy to follow and for the first time I actually got an end result that looked exactly like the picture :) Thank you so much for posting this pattern. It was perfect!

Where am I?

Poor unsuspecting fool that you are, you have stumbled across yet another craft blog. This one details the exploits of a dexterity deficient young woman's attempts to navigate the treacherous waters of knitting, dyeing, cooking, sewing, and all of the other random things that she tries her hand at in an attempt to put off doing More Constructive Things.

Coherency has no place here. However, absurdity, confusion, enthusiasm and verbal diarrhea can all pull up a chair and make themselves at home.